Cleaning House

[Amorentia]

Read What Happened Before with Sara HERE

 

Blaise POV

 

Two weeks. Two weeks with my Mother was enough to drive anyone insane. I tried to buffer between she and Sara as best as I could. But for all my Mother kept to herself, when she was around she had a way of sliding in like a strip of bamboo underneath your fingernail.

 

Peni was the first to break. That pressure cooker between she and Mother had been building for awhile. The final confrontation started with Peni and Marcus came to pick up Deni and Bliss. They brought all of the other children. My Mother's first ridiculous comment was about having to wash her grandchildren when they arrived. Then she followed it up with, "Blaise, it's bad enough to have the stench outside," as she looked at Jalil on the porch. Turning to look at Peni, Marcus, and the kids in the kitchen she added, "But bringing it inside is a whole other matter."  The confrontation ended with Mother in Leopard form at the top of the tall tree in the back yard with Peni in Wolf form at the bottom ready to kill. It took Father to calm both of them down and get Mother out of the tree. Sara sat on the porch drinking her tea with a huge smile on her face enjoying the show.

 

Sara slowly succumbed to the pressure till she was an itchy, bleeding mess. When I found her doing yoga for six hours strait trying to distress, my concern peaked. Then I saw the bloodied wedding dress with her note: 

 

 

 

Something had to be done.

 

Mother's first response to me was to inquire why Sara wasn't strong enough to stand up for herself. "Your last wife may have reeked or dog, but at least she had a backbone."

 

She didn't know Sara like I did. When Sara snapped, Peni chasing Mother up a tree would like like childsplay. "She has me to stand up for her," I retorted. 

 

Looking me up and down her eyebrow cocked replying, "That's not much. If is was enough, I wouldn't have to be here to protect my grandchildren." Gliding across the room to her vanity, Mother added casually, "The girl has good breeding. If she can, like you said, look after herself, if she had a problem she could come talk to me herself."

 

"Sara's trying to be gracious." I explained. Mother balked at the word.  "She's trying to be respectful and honor the fact that you're her soon to be Mother-in-law, and that you're supposed to be helping."

 

"Supposed to be?" Mother looked at me through her round mirror before she turned to face me. "Supposed to be?"

 

"Stressing her out isn't helping, Nene."

 

Mother cut her eye at me, "Then you two need to find a way to ensure the protection on my grandchildren. Until you can do that, I'm not going anywhere."

 

All I could do was sigh heavily.

 

"I'm disappointed in you, Blaise." Mother purred looking at me through her Vanity mirror. "I didn't raise you to chase the skirt of some girl who has you doing rings around her every whim. Maybe she's the kind of girl you need to put your foot down with."

 

"Nene," I tried to control the anger in my voice "I know more about my relationship that you do. Don't go there."

 

Mother's head turned toward me her her eyebrow raised and danger in her voice, "So you're telling me where I can and cannot go now?"

 

"You need to lay off, Sara." I tried to say finally.

 

Mother turned back to her Vanity, arranging things on the table as she defended her actions, "I don't see what I am doing wrong with helping? With giving you two the best wedding the Magical World has seen in a decade? In offering myself to help protect the both of you and my grandchildren? I think maybe Sara should be reminded of the situation. I'm sure it's just her hormones upsetting her. That and the fact she has to depend on more than just her 'man' to take care of her because he's not adequately up to the job." Her eyes locked on mine through the mirror with a smirk, "Maybe we should call you're ex-wife...."

 

"No, Nene." I snapped before she could tell me again how Peni carried my weakness for me in finding my Father.  "The problem here is you." 

 

That's when I felt it. The electricity that flowed through me from my Mother's lightening magic since I was born telling me the conversation was over. It was her final word that I was out of line. This jolt knocked me across the hall against the wall making me feel like a weak little boy. Getting up off the floor, I dusted off my clothes, walking towards Sara and my bedroom.

 

Seeing again the bloody wedding dress with the note, I sat on the bed knowing what a failure I was. I couldn't protect Sara. Other people had to protect my children. I couldn't make Sara happy or calm. I couldn't control the events in my own house... well Sara's house. Putting my head in my hands, the many failures that were my life weighed on my shoulders - from my first marriage to Peni to now.

 

Laying back on the bed I knew I had to figure out something. Sara was not what my Mother was putting on her. She was incredibly strong. Her buckling now was my failure more than hers. Somehow I had to do something.  

Reg was the first person I saw when I apparted into The Night Stand to talk to Sara.

"If your looking for the crying, bleeding mess, she's in the fantasy room." Reg told me. Then he asked, "Can I ask you something?"

Part of me tried to prepare myself knowing Reg could be unpredictable and cause more trouble when the time was not right.

"Do they all have to be in your house?  I mean, your dad?  House?  I have room at my place," Reg suggested. "They'd still be near..but not so near if you know what I mean?"

It was a good idea. Giving him a nod with a small smile I told him, "Thank you."

With a nod and a grin back he added, "Your mom is all you though."

That was the problem. "Is she is the first one?" I asked as Reg nodded again.

After giving a courtesy knock, I opened the door saying, "Sara... Awelewa-mi..."

Sara sat on the bed, crying, tissues up her nose,  with a bowl of ice cream in her hand. Wiping her eyes, she tried to put on her brave face attempting an upbeat, "Hey gorgeous."

Shutting the door behind me, I walked over trying to comfort her. "Hey.... hey now....". Scooping her up in my arm, I cradled her body to mine telling her, "I'm sorry.... I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

"It's not your fault they all suck," Sara curled into my chest. "Or that I suck and apparently can't handle myself...or any of the other wonderful things my mother likes to say about me"

"This isn't about you. You've done nothing wrong." I tried to assure her. In her eyes I could see she still carried the weight of the problem like it was her own. "You're taking the high road and trying to do what's right."

Laying down she pulled me into her arms trying to comfort me, "This is the best I have felt in weeks." With a laugh she pulled the bloody tissues from her nose, "That's really sad. Can we just stay here?"

This situation was out of control. "I don't want it to be like this - our lives." I told her. "There's no reason it should be like this... us run out of our own house."

Sara sighed agreeing with resignation as she lightly kissed me before replying, "I know, but it's not like they're gonna leave when the babies are born.  I mean, House, sure, but at this point House is the least of my problems."

"My Mother is the main one..." My thoughts turned to my attempt to confront her before I left. My head echoed with Reg telling me awhile ago how I chose my Mother over Peni. It was not a mistake I was going to make again.

"If I could make our home..." I corrected myself knowing myself and my family were the one who intruded on her home. "Your home yours again, would you come back with me?"

The kiss she gave me didn't feel deserved. "Our home...," she insisted. "I don't want to be there if it's not ours together."

There was a knot in my stomach thinking of what I needed to do.  I'd never stood up to Mother like this. I'd been trained since infancy not to. It was time. "Kiss me for a second..." I asked her to help boost my confidence. It had been weeks since we were intimate because of all of the stress. It was hard to push myself away especially when her body pressed against mine as she whispered, "I miss this."

It was enough. Resting my head against hers, I looked in her eyes determined to be the man she needed me to be. "I'm going to go get our house back." I told her. "Do you want to wait here or come with me?"

"We're a team right?" Sara asked. Taking her hand, I pulled her to her feet to wrap my arms around her to take her home.

Still holding Sara's hand I stormed through the house yelling, "Nene....!"

Fabunni was in kitchen. Instantly I told her, "Pack Mother's things." Fabunni opened her mouth to argue with her eyes wide. "Now," I demanded adding the true threat to get her moving. "Or I will have Mimsy do it." Mumbling to herself, Mother's House Elf made her way upstairs. Having another House Elf touch Mother's things was a travesty in her mind. My heart was racing, but I was determined. I hollered again for my Mother, "Nene!"

"What?" She said coming out of nowhere making me jump. "Why are you yelling through the house like some neanderthal." Mother looked down her nose at me. "You are a Wizard, after all."

Moving in front of Sara I started talking before my Mother could gain any kind of foothold. "Because this is our house. If I want to yell in it I will yell in it."

Mother looked from Sara to myself seeing the challenge beginning. Swallowing hard I told her firmly, "It's time for you to leave."

"Excuse me" Mother's eyes flashed. She began chastising me in Yorba when I cut her off.

"I'm not speaking to you in a way Sara cannot understand."

"Ohhhh....." The way she looked at Sara told me she was going to try to turn this into a dominance battle of the women in my life. Protectively I stepped in front of Sara. This was not her battle it was mine.

"You have a decision to make, Nene." I laid things out. "I want you to think about it carefully." The smirk on Mother's face questioned my resolve as I said, "You have to decide if you want to be in my life or not." The way she almost laughed in my face pushed me over the edge. "Remember what it was like before?" I reminded her. "There were years where you never heard from me because you would not fit in the life I had. We're at that place again." Her catlike eyes narrowed. "This..." I signaled to the house and Sara around me, "is my life. We..." I pointed betwen myself and Sara, "Make the decisions in our life - including our wedding, kids..." I picked up the Ming Dynasty Vase Mother snuck into the house on her third day here and threw it across the room, sending it crashing into the wall. "Home decor. We.... not you..." I yelled as I walk toward the stairs, "House..... Baba...... none of you..."

When I turned around I saw the silver flash her eye as her hand extended to use her Lightening magic against me. Though I'd seen Father do it a thousand time, even Peni had mastered it with Bliss, I never though to do it. Taking her by the shoulder I turned, her own weapon on her. Mother's mouth dropped open in utter shock and disbelief. Holding her hand behind her back, I said firmly in her ear, "Either you go back to Uncle's house where you can come to see us and the kids how and when we decide you can. Or you go back to Nigeria in your lonely little world with only Fabunni to relate to. You'll already be lucky if Peni let's you see her and my kids again after what you pulled with her. Now, you're making the choice if you're going to have any kind of contact with ours."

Jerking her arm away, Mother adjusted her dignity by resetting the shaw around her shoulders. 

"Nene," my breath was labored as I spoke. "I want you in my life and with the kids. I know how much they mean to you. This is where it ends. You interference ends now."

For a moment her eyes looked across the house as she raised her head, setting her shoulders back. Slowly she turned back to look at Sara with a coy smile saying smoothly, "It's about time someone made a man out of you." Turning on her heels, Mother floated through the hallway to leave. 

As soon as she was out of sight, I held onto the back of the nearest chair blowing the rest of my hot air out. Sweat begin to break out on my forehead as I grasped what I had just done.  

Sara looked at me with a sexual prowess as she ducked under my arm placing herself between me and the chair while her arms slid around my neck. Placing her lips on mine she showed me why it was all worth it as she whispered, "I love you."

"I love you, too." I smiled calming down a bit. "I'm sorry I didn't do it earlier."

With another light kiss, her body pressed against mine as she wrapped my arms around her soothing me by saying, "I know it wasn't easy. Thank you for choosing us."

My eyes raked over her beautiful face seeing my future in her large brown eyes. Her hands moved up my chest under my shirt as she kissed me deeper making that moan I missed so much as I let other people over run our life. With her soft hand over the back on my neck, I held her close to me so ready to make love to her as I asked, "Do I need to sweep the house to make sure everyone is gone before I can make love to you?"

Leaning back her laughter was like music as she asked, "Please?"

There was no need to ask me twice. Sara went to our room waiting for me as I moved through the halls, kicking doors open announcing to anyone who was listening, "I don't know where you've got to go, but you've got to get the bloody hell out of here." I sent House to Reg's. Mother had apparted out. Father would receive my Patronus telling him we needed our space. Coming to our room I Sara waiting for me as I picked her up to make love to her with our door open now that no one was there to hear her cries of passion.

Sara Black written by shtteredprncess. Reg Black written by shtteredprncess. Blaise Zabini written by Amorentia. Morowa Zabini written by Amorentia.

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[shtteredprnces]

Nov. 1, 2009 at 4:51 PM

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